Teenage slasher gets bail, mom accused of bullying

MUMBAI: The 16-year-old schoolboy who last week savagely knifed a 28-year-old woman and slit her two-year-old son's throat in Belapur has been released on bail, said police officers.

The attack victim, Smita Singh, is still in the ICU of MGM Hospital in Belapur CBD, while the son has been shifted to general ward, said Smita's husband Kuldeep. He has sought protection for his family from NRI police, following "threatening gestures" by the mother of the accused juvenile.

"On Sunday morning, the mother of the accused teenager aggressively tried to enter the ICU where my wife is recovering. Thankfully, the security guard did not allow in her and an accompanying man," said an anxious Kuldeep, who at that time was at his residence.

After being denied entry into the ICU, Kuldeep added, the teenager's mother landed at his doorstep in Sector 19, Belapur. "I spoke to them through my flat's grille door. The woman's tone was threatening and she was putting pressuring me not to pursue the case. I refused to entertain them and gave a written complaint letter to NRI police station the same day," said Kuldeep.

When contacted, senior inspector Suresh Vedak of NRI police said: "I have questioned the mother of the accused boy. She said she went to the hospital to find out about the injured woman's condition. It was she and her elder son who first rushed Smita Singh to hospital on the day of the crime. The family of the accused has denied issuing any threat or wrongdoing.''

Asked about the allegation that, before the brutal attack, Smita was threatened twice by the attacker's mother over watering potted plants in their building, Vedak said: "We are looking into those points and trying to find out the reason behind the attack."

He informed that the teenager was let off on bail after the court took a written undertaking from his parents that he is their responsibility. "The accused boy's family is trying to admit him to Thane Mental Hospital for treatment," said Vedak.

Meanwhile, Kuldeep also has to worry about the mounting medical expenses for the treatment of his wife and child. "The hospital bill has already crossed Rs 2 lakh, though my insurance cover is of Rs 1.5 lakh. I want to appeal to citizens to support me as the total expense is expected to be around Rs 10 lakh," he said.